pscc ch 12 inequality and stratification

8/3/2019 PSCC Ch 12 Inequality and Stratification

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Concepts to cover...stratification

legitimating rationales

caste, estate, class systems of stratification

Marx’s conception of class

bourgeoisie, proletariat

Weber’s conception of class

life style vs life chances (position in market)

Wednesday, October 26, 11



•

power vs authority• status & prestige

• socioeconomic status

• social mobility

• horizontal and vertical

• inter- and intragenerational

• open systems vs closed systems

• exogamy and endogamy




Stratification:

What and How• Social stratification is the system, and the

outcome of the system, that evaluates andrewards people on the basis of arbitrarycharacteristics with scarce, desired goods;thus resulting in social strata, or layers, of

society where people in lower rankinggroups receive less of the desired goodsthan people in the higher ranking groups




Stratification:

What and How• Stratification systems are:

• Persistent (they last over long periods of time)

• Resistant to change

• Upheld by legitimating rationales (i.e.,reasons for accepting social stratificationas fair and just)




Stratification:

Marx vs. Weber• Marx:

• Capitalists/Owners of Production (Bourgeoisie);

and• Laborers (Proletariat)

• Weber:

• Money, power (e.g., authority) and status (e.g.,prestige) shape class position

• Lifestyle and life chances are functions of classposition




EconomicDimension

• Bourgeoisievs.Proletariat:Whoevercontrolsthecapitalcontrolsthelegal,educationalandgovernmental

systems

• Incomevs.wealth:Mostpeoplehaveincomebutwhocontrolsthewealth?

PowerDimension

• Dothosewhocontrol

capitalcontrolthe

power?• Canpeopleexpand

theirpower?• Canyouexercise

powerwithoutbeing

wealthy?

PrestigeDimension

• Prestigeisvoluntary

given

• Whichsimilarcharacteristicsdo

prestigiouspeople

possess?• Canyoubeborninto

prestige?




Mobility: Or Moving

through the Strata• There is no mobility in closed stratification systems;

• Open systems may have:

• Horizontal mobility: between two positions in thesame class

• Vertical mobility: Up and down between classes

• Intergenerational: One generation exceeds theposition of the previous

• Intragenerational: Within lifetime mobility




SocialStratification

Each of the layers in astratification system is

a socialclass.

SocialClassissegmentofsocietywhosemembershold

similaramountsofresources

andsharevalues,normsand

anidentifiablelifestyle.




¡ UpperClass– investors, heirs, chief

! executive officers; annual income over $4million dollars

¡ UpperMiddleClass–upper-level managers,

professionals, owners of medium-sizedbusinesses; annual income $150,000-4 milliondollars




¡ MiddleClass–lower-level managers,semiprofessionals, craftspeople, foremen, non-retail salespeople, clerical; annual income$45,000-$150,000

¡ WorkingClass– low-skill manual, clerical, retailsales workers; annual income $30,000-45,000




¡ WorkingPoor– lowest-paid manual, retail, andservice workers, people employed in low-skill jobs

with the lowest pay who do not earn enough torise out of poverty; annual income $20,000-30,000

¡ Underclass – unemployed people, people in part-

time menial jobs, people receiving publicassistance; people typically unemployed who camefrom families that have been poor for generations




The 2009 Poverty

48 Contiguous States an

uidelines for the

the District of Columbia

Persons in family Poverty guideline1 $10,830

2 14,570

3 18,310

4 22,050

5 25,790

6 29,530

7 33,270

8 37,010

For families with more than 8

additional person.

persons, add $3,740 for each




Race All People

The Young

(under 18

years old)

Families withFemale

Householder,

No Husband

present

All races 13.2 % 19% 28.7 %

White alone,

non-Hispanic8.6% 10.6% 21.5%

Black alone 24.7% 34.7% 40.5%

Asian alone 11.8% 14.6% 16%

Hispanic of

any race23.2% 30.6% 40.5%

Poverty Rate of People by Race, Age (under 18 years old), and FamilyRelationship (i.e. Families with Female Householder, no Husband present) for 2008

Source: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty08.html


http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty08.html





White,non-

Hispanic

10.4IncomeLessthan

$25,000

24.5

Black 19.5Income$25,000

to$49,99921.1

Hispanic 32.1WorkedFull-Time

inPastYear 17

Age18to34 26.9WorkedPart-Time

inPastYear23.4

ForeignBorn,NotaCiMzen

43.8

Who Did Not Have Health Insurance in America in 2008? (%)

Source: U.S. Census. In 2008, 15.4%, or 46.2 million people in America,

did not have health insurance.




SocialStratification




Intersectionality:

Class, Ethnicity and GenderCommon principles of intersectionality are:

Individuals belong to multiple demographiccategories, so that the same individual has aspecific gender, an ethnicity, and a socialclass position, among others;

Some categories provide advantages andsome disadvantages, with each having roots insocial stratification structure.

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pscc ch 12 inequality and stratification

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